C’dA Basin cleanup ahead of schedule

Cleanup of contaminated residential yards and other properties in the Coeur d’Alene Basin is so far ahead of schedule that state lawmakers today authorized speeding up spending to do even more work this year. “We’ve been very, very pleased with what the contractors in North Idaho were doing,” said state DEQ Director Toni Hardesty. The plan for this year was to replace contaminated topsoil and contain pollutants from old mining waste at 500 Silver Valley properties. That’s already done. Now, under a supplemental appropriation that won unanimous support in JFAC this morning, DEQ will move ahead with 200 more between now and June 30. The money is from the federal economic stimulus and EPA remediation funds; it was one of several non-general fund supplemental appropriations approved unanimously by JFAC today; you can read my full story here at spokesman.com.